A Rare Doucai Conical Bowl And Cover. Yongzheng Six-Character Mark In Underglaze Blue Within A Double Circle And Of The Period

A Rare Doucai Conical Bowl And Cover. Yongzheng Six-Character Mark In Underglaze Blue Within A Double Circle And Of The Period (1723-1735). photo Christie's Ltd 2011

Both the conical bowl and domed cover with notched rims and finely painted in a rich doucai palette with a green dragon and a yellow dragon leaping amidst multicolored clouds as they pursue flaming pearls above a band of wind-tossed waves, with three tiny insects painted in iron red in the bottom of the interior of the bowl; Bowl 7½ in. (19.2 cm.) diam., cover 8 1/16 in. (20.5 cm.) diam. Estimate $60,000 - $80,000.. Price Realized $338,500

Provenance: Bluett & Sons, London.

The property of an American collector.

Notes: Bowls and covers of this pattern with Yongzheng marks are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 38 - Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, Hong Kong, 1999, no. 230; by He Li, Chinese Ceramics, A New Comprehensive Survey, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 1996, no. 611; a pair in the collection of the Chinese University of Hong Kong included in the exhibition, Qing Imperial Porcelain, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 52; and one in the Tsui Museum of Art: Chinese Ceramics IV - Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1995, no. 129. A Yongzheng-marked bowl of this type, although lacking its cover, was sold in these rooms, 24-25 March 2011, lot 1712.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I & II,  15 - 16 September 2011. New York, Rockefeller Plaza. www.christies.com